Overview

At most academic institutions, students and faculty in the area of environmental studies have no formal contact with or connection to students and faculty in the area of business. In fact, it is not unusual for these two areas to be defined in contradistinction to each other, as if one must be an advocate either for the protection of natural resources from overuse and misuse or for the market strategies that maximize productivity and return on investment. This dichotomy is misleading, however, insofar as it assumes that business practices and policies that are sustainable in the long-run cannot also ensure a corporation’s competitiveness. Whereas it is important that students understand and be able to assess how corporate behavior often damages the physical and social ecology of local communities, it is also important that students have a vision for how a corporation can aspire to be both responsible and competitive. Rollins has established a new model for undergraduate education in this area by establishing a concentration of courses that examines how development and conservation can be intrinsically linked to insure sustainable development.